“The Picture of Dorian Gray†(1945) keeps close to the brilliant novel that inspired it except for a few innovations that usually work to the film’s benefit. It departs from the book in giving an otherworldly explanation for the granting of Dorian’s wish that the portrait painted of him will grow old while he himself remains young: an ancient Egyptian sculpture, that of the a supposed cat-god, is in the room when he makes the fateful wish. The cat-god gives an added layer of eeriness to the movie.
Hurd Hatfield plays Dorian. His performance is deliberately understated, almost expressionless in a way that lends to the atmosphere of horror. In the role of Dorian’s cynical mentor in the ways of callous hedonism, George Sanders displays the sly sophistication that made him perfect for the roles of the cads that he so frequently played. Angela Lansbury plays Sybil Vane, the singer who falls in love with Dorian. The movie departs from the book in the reason Dorian brutally rejects Sybil but the reason invented is probably easier to depict in the medium of film. Lansbury plays Sybil with the winsomeness and vulnerability appropriate to the role.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray†benefits from exquisitely decorated sets and the power of a stark black and white cinematography that is only broken up when the audience is shown the painting of Dorian and it switches to vibrant color. Albert Lewin both directed the movie and wrote its screenplay. His direction is sure-handed most of the time although the movie drags in a few places.
All in all, “The Picture of Dorian Gray†is a well-crafted horror movie and a fine tribute to the classic on which it is based.
